Travel Notes on Yaotai Mountain
Xia County Yaotai Mountain is also known as Wuxian Mountain. Fu, I would rather not go there?
On the third day of April, Renyin went with his wife. Looking at Yaotai from a distance, you can see solitary peaks, green sky and pagodas.
The road in front of the scenic spot is being renovated and there are no tourists. My wife was waiting at the foot of the mountain because she had been swimming there, while I climbed the mountain alone.
There is no one up and down the mountain road. There are thick junipers and cypresses on both sides, and one person occupies a green mountain to himself.
There are several pavilions along the way for rest. The pavilions are decorated with poems and songs by famous people from past dynasties about Wuxian Mountain.
The mountain is about 160 meters high. After looking around all the way, we climbed to the top in half an hour.
The platform on the top of the mountain is about 50 meters square. The wall surrounds a Taoist temple - Taixu Temple. The Taoism and Buddhism coexist, forming the holy land of Yaotai. It was rebuilt at the beginning of this century. All the ancient buildings in Yaotai Mountain were destroyed during the Japanese occupation.
"Bamboo Chronicles" records that Xia Jie "built Qing Palace, decorated Yao Terrace, made Qiong Room, and erected Jade Gate." Liu Xiang of the Western Han Dynasty said in "New Preface to Ci She": "Jie built the Yaotai, deprived the people of their strength, squandered the people's wealth, made dikes for wine ponds, indulged in extravagant music, and drank with one drum, and three thousand people drank." Xia Jie in Yao Taishan carried out extensive construction work, built a majestic palace, drank and had fun with Meixi and the palace maids, and killed Guan Longpang who had spoken out many times to dissuade him. In the end, he was overthrown by Shang Tang in the Battle of Mingtiao.
Is Xia Jie "making a Yaotai" or "decorating a Yaotai"? It seems impossible to build a Yaotai because of the huge amount of work. However, the current Yaotai is in the shape of a cone, with a bottom diameter of about 500 meters and a top platform diameter of about 50 meters. There are many traces of artificial altars. I think the most likely thing is that Xia Jie built the Yaotai and the palace on the basis of the natural mountain topography.
It suddenly occurred to me that ancient emperors often liked to build villas in their palaces. King Ling of Chu’s Zhanghuatai (Slender Waist Palace), Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Afang Palace, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s Ganquan Palace (Jade Girl), King Wu’s Guanwa Palace (Xi Shi), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty’s Renshou Palace (Palace Lady), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty’s Huaqing Palace ( Yang Yuhuan), Xixia Li Yuanhao's Helan Mountain Palace (daughter-in-law), Qianlong's Old Summer Palace (Xiang Fei), etc. The Ligong is a temporary palace outside the emperor's main palace. It is called a summer retreat and is actually used to hide many beauties. Leave the palace, put aside the restrictions of etiquette and multiple supervision in the palace, and have fun as you like. Even the Queen Mother of the West had a palace - Yaochi, where she came to have a tryst with King Mu of Zhou.
Climbing the steps into the mountain gate is the nine-story pagoda, which is 43.69 meters high. There are wooden stairs inside the tower that can be spiraled up. The first to ninth floors of the pagoda are dedicated to the four heavenly kings, Maitreya, Ksitigarbha, Samantabhadra, Manjusri, Guanyin, Medicine Buddha, Amitabha and Sakyamuni.
Behind the pagoda are the Taoist buildings Sanqing, Sanguan, Wenchang, Yaowang and other palaces as well as the Wugong Temple. Considering that the current epidemic in the world is entangled, where is the magic power of Taoist and Buddhist gods and bodhisattvas?
There are several old steles standing behind Wenchang Pavilion: "The Creation of Guanyin Hall" in the 43rd year of Jiajing, "The Story of the Reconstruction of the Yaowang Palace and Xianting of the Hundred Kings of the Three Qing Dynasties" in the 36th year of Qianlong's reign, and "The Story of the Reconstruction of the Hundred Kings of the Three Qing Dynasties and the Pavilion" in the 24th year of Guangxu's reign. The inscriptions on the Wugong Temple of the Sanqing Palace in the Tiansheng Palace and the Thunder God Cave in the Sanguan Palace can be imagined as the scale of the Yaotai Holy Land.
Wugong Temple and Tiansheng Palace were originally located at the foot of the mountain. Now the Wugong Temple is built in Taixu Temple, and Wuxian, Wuxian and his son are worshiped in the temple.
"Gui Zang": When the Yellow Emperor fought with the Yan Emperor, Xian Zhan said, "It's true, but it's to blame." Here Wu Xian is a figure in the Huangdi period and participated in the Battle of Banquan.
Guo Pu's "Wuxian Mountain Ode": "Wuxian used Hongshu (superb alchemy) as Emperor Yao's physician, was born as a lord, and died as a noble god. How can he seal this mountain and take its name?" ? "Here Guo Pu takes Wu Xian as a figure from the Yao period.
"Shangshu": I heard that in the past when Chengtang was ordered, there was Ruo Yiyin, who was appointed to the emperor. In Taijia, everything is in balance. In Taiwu, there were Ruo Yizhi and Chen Hu, who were in line with God; Wu Xian Yi (governing, stabilizing) the Wang family. In Zuyi, there was always a wizard. "Here Wu Xian was an important minister who assisted Emperor Taiwu of Shang Dynasty, and his son Wu Xian was an important minister who assisted Emperor Yi, the grandson of Emperor Taiwu.
It is said that Wu Xian and Wu Xian lived in seclusion in Yaotai Mountain and were buried after their deaths. At the foot of Yaotai Mountain, there is a tomb of Wuxian and his son. There is also a tomb of Wuxian in Yushan, Changshu.
Gu Yanwu conducted detailed research on when and where Wuxian came from, and his final conclusion was: "The ancient sages." His name has been used by many future generations. ”
The two ancient tombs of Wu Xian and Wu Xian were listed as cultural relics protection units in Shanxi Province in 1962, but now they are hard to find.
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Western Classic of the Great Wilderness" records: There are Lingshan Mountains in the Great Wilderness, including Wu Xian, Wu Ji, Wu Pan, Wu Peng, Wu Gu, Wu Zhen, Wu Li, Wu Di, Wu Xie, The ten witches of Wuluo have risen and fallen from now on, and the love of hundreds of medicines is there.
Ling, the traditional form is "ling", Shuowenjie Note: Wuye. The Lingshan or Wushan in the Classic of Mountains and Seas is said to be Wushan Mountain in Xia County, or Wushan Mountain in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Each is confirmed by comparing the surrounding geographical environment with records in ancient books. I prefer to speculate based on the spread of witch culture. But in the final analysis, the Classic of Mountains and Seas itself has meanings that cannot be taken seriously in the context of ordinary people.
Bachu witch culture has a long tradition, but Hedong witch culture produced a big figure in the Jin Dynasty - Guo Pu.
Guo Pu was a famous writer, exegesis and originator of Feng Shui in the Jin Dynasty. He was a native of Wenxi County. He was good at divination and many strange alchemy techniques. His "Burial Scripture" is the sect of Chinese Feng Shui culture. . As the most famous inheritor of Hedong witchcraft culture, Guo Pu once climbed Wuxian Mountain, and a gentleman must write poems when he climbs high. His works include "Ode to Wuxian Mountain (with Preface)":
"Although Wu Xian sees well, he cannot purify himself. "Although the Qin doctors were good at eradicating the disease, they could not cure themselves." Guo Pu predicted that he would be doomed, but he could not see through it and was killed by Wang Dun, a powerful official in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Climbing the tower gives you a great view. On the right side of the mountain are Wuxian Valley, Wuxian River (Baisha River) and Baisha River Reservoir. On the left side of the mountain is Hongsha River Reservoir. To the north of the mountain is the county seat of Xia County.
After exiting Taixu Temple and descending the 72 steps, turn left about 20 meters to the Thunder God Cave.
Thunder Cave was originally a natural stone cave. There is a small stone cave in the cave, which is unfathomable. It is said that Wu Xian and his son used to observe the earth's atmosphere in the cave and the sky on the top of the mountain to predict the weather, clouds, and rain in the four seasons. Later, due to the collapse of the cave roof, the small stone cave could no longer be found. For safety, the entire cave was covered with bricks.
It took more than 10 minutes to go down the mountain. The section of Baishahexia County at the foot of the mountain has been renovated and turned into a park.
Baisha River is also known as Wuxian River. When Wuxian water enters the salt pond, the salt will no longer form, so the villagers may call it Wuxian River. Baisha River originates from Sijiao, flows through Wuxian Valley, merges into Qinglong River, flows into Kuchi Reservoir, passes through Yaosiang Canal and joins Wuxing Lake, and finally enters the Yellow River.
On the way back, I looked through the "Sending Liu Si to Xia County" by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Qi that I took when I went up the mountain: "Once I went out to slaughter Fenhe, the Ming Dynasty got off the car and the officials were idle. Sitting in court. There is nothing in the court, but Wu Xian Mountain is just a stone’s throw away. “Now, with Wu Xian Mountain so close, how can the court have any free time?”